Odometer



Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,512,035 PATENT OFFICE,

. JOHN K. OLSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO STEWART-WARNER SPEEDOM- ETER CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

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Application filed December. 27, 1921. Serial No. 524,895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN K. OLSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Odometers, of which the following is a specification, refer ence being had to the accompanying drawin forming a part thereof.

he purpose ofthis invention is to proe vide an improved construction 'of a counter train, particularly of-the type of an odometer, that is, having the counter wheels graduated in terms of distance of travel, of a vehicle to be served by the instrument, which shall be simpler and more compact in construction than similar devices heretofore employed. It consists in the elements and features of con struction shown and described, as indicated in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a, partly sectional plan view of a structure embodying this invention with the casing cover removed and the dial wheels partly broken away and shown in section, section being made at the horizontal axial plane, of the dial wheels.-

Figure 2 is a detail section at the line, 2-2, on Figure 1. p

Figure 3 is a detail section at the line, 33, on Fi re 1. j

Figure 4 1s a horizontal axial section showin a modification in certain details. 7

Figure 5 is a section at theline, 55, on

Fi re 4.

Figure 6 is a section at the line, 6-6, on

Figure 1.

. In the structure shown in the drawings, there is a frame or support A comprising end bearing members, A and A and an intermediate bearing, A, for the drive gear hereinafter mentioned. In the bearings, A and A there is mounted for rotation and limited longitudinal movement, a main centralshaft B for which the journal bearing is provided in the left hand standard, A, b

means of an intruded bushing, a, ada te by bein screwed in, 'to be adjusted w thin a limi ran e, and secured as adjusted by a nut, a. he end of the shaft which is journaled in this bushing is axially bored at b for the housing of a spring, F, which re' right to a limit which is determined by the encounter with a bushin a, of the shoulder, 6 formed on the shaft toward the right hand end by the reduction in diameter of said right hand end portion of the shaft as shown at B On the shaft, B, there is mounted loosely a drive gear, C, which is j ournaled 1n the bearing, A above mentioned, which thereby constitutes substantially a journal bearing for the shaft as well. Thedrive gear, C, is adapted to be driven in any suitable manner by or from the shaft whose revolutions are to be counted or indicated. The driving means'illustrated is one most familiar, consisting of a worm gear, G on an inlcading shaft, 0 for which a journal bearmg member a, is provided projecting from the backwall, A, of the support, A. On the shaft, B, at the right hand side of the drive gear, C, there are mounted the numeral wheels or dials of the odometer trip train,

graduated as usual, decimally, the initial right hand dial being graduated to indicate tenths of a mile, the next numeral wheel being the units wheel, and the third at the left the tens wheel. Between saidtens wheel, D and the drive gear, GQthere is disposed a disk spring, K, for taking up the slack of the trip train and holding the several members thereof in snug relation to each other. At the left hand side of the drive gear, C, there are shown in succession, three blinds or dummy dials, E, e and e ,'that is, wheels might be but are not graduated so as to constitute dials. Next,

following these dummy wheels at the left are five numeral wheels or dials held in'snug assemblage with the wheels, E, e and e by the adjustment of the journal bushing, a, as described. Familiar means of carrying from wheel to wheel are provided for both the trip train and the total travel train, as indicated at the meeting planes of the consecutive wheels by the carrying inions, G, on the counter-shaft, g, journa ed in the frame uprights, A A and A 7 The initial or lowest-denomination wheel, I), of the trip train is engaged with the shaft, B, for rotation by means of either a spline or inwardly projecting pin, d, on

the wheel engaging a longitudinal groove,

corresponding wheel, E, of the total travel train is engaged with said shaft, B, either by an inwardly projecting pin, 6, on the wheel engaging any one of ten longitudinal grooves, 72 on the shaft as seen in Fig. 1, or by means of a spline or projecting pin, 6 on the shaft entering one of ten longitudinal grooves, 6 in said wheel, E. In addition to the longitudinal or paraxial grooves, 6 or 0 there is provided a circumferential groove, 6 in the shaft (see Fig. l) or 0 in the wheel (see Fig. 4), positioned offset from the plane of rotation of the spline or pin, 0 or b", atthe normal position of the shaft, B, a distance equal to the thrust of theshaft from its normal position to the limit determined by the clearance provided by the depth of the bore in the journal bushing, al so that when the shaft is thrust into that limit, the spline or pin, 6 or I), being in the groove, 6 or e, the shaft rotates without rotating the .nulneral wheel, E, and therefore, of course, without operating any of the remainder of the total travel train. 7

The dummy or numeral-less wheels, '6 and 6 are both loose on the shaft; the wheel, 6 is rigid for rotation with the drive wheel, C, and said dummy wheels, 6 and e", and the wheel, E,( which is also usually without rotation indicating markings, although to be regarded as the lowest-denominationwheel of the total travel train because having thesame rotation as the lowest denomination wheel, D of the trip train), together with the carrying means connecting them successively, constitute a speed reducing train by which the speed derived by the wheel, E, from the drive wheel, C, is reduced to 1/100th of that of said drive wheel.

The right hand end of the shaft, B, is

provided with an operating knob, 13*. The operation of the structure described may be understood to be, that in the ordinary operation,tihat is, when driven by the wheel whose speed is to be indicated,-rotary motion is first transmitted through said gear, C, wheels, 6 c and their respective carrying means to the wheel, E, which by the spline-and-groove engagement described, rotates the shaft, B. Said shaft, B, in turn by the spline-and -groove engagement described rotates the lowest-denomination wheel of the trip train, D and from said wheels, E and D respectively, proper rotation is communicated by the carrying de vices to the successive wheels of the trip train and total travel train, respectively. For re-setting, the operator will push inward on the knob, B thrusting the shaft, B, to the inward limit, causing the disengagement of said shaft from the gear, E, but not effecting the engagement of the shaft with the gear, 1). While holding the shaft thus thrust inward it may be rotated in either direction for setting the trip train either forward or backward toany desired point without effecting the total travel train.

When the construction having the pins in the wheels and the groovesin the shaft is adopted, as shown in Fig. 1, the wheels which are to carry the pins are made with a central bushing, X, which has the pin formed by striking a punch radially inward part way through the radial thickness of the bushing forcing the metal out as'an interior projection, as seen in Figure 1.

I claim g 1. A revolution counter comprising in combination two trains of numeral wheels and a unitary shaft on which both of said trains are carried; means for rotating said shaft from the shaft whose revolutions are to be counted, hearings in which said shaft is mounted for longitudinal movement to a determined limit in one direction, and between which the numeral wheels are held against such movement; a spring which yieldingly holds the shaft to the other limit; the lowest denomination wheel of each train having spline-and-groove engagement with the shaft for rotation therewith, adapted to permit relative movement of the shaft and wheel longitudinally of the shaft; the grooved element at the shaft engagement of the lowest denomination wheel of one of the trains having also a circumferential groove for engagement of the spline to permit relative rotation of said shaft and wheel, said grooves and splines being positioned in the respective parts for the first mentioned engagement at normal position of the shaft and for the second engagement at said determined limit of the shaftaway from normal position.

2. A revolution counter comprising in combination with a frame structure, a main central integral shaft supported in said frame; a decimal series of counter wheels, all carried side by side on said shaft; 9. gear on said shaft, and driving connections independent of the rotation of said shaft from said gear to the lowest denomination wheej directly engaged with said shaft for rotation therewith throughout the longitudinal adjustment of said shaft, and means for holding the wheels of said second counter train against lateral displacement in said longitudinal movement of the shaft.

4. In the construction defined in claim 2, foregoing, means for holding the first mentioned gear against displacement from position for meshing with its driving means in the longitudinal movement of the shaft.

5. In the construction defined in claim 1, foregoing, the grooved element at the engagement of the lowest-denomination wheel of the train for which the shaft has the circumferential groove mentioned having ten circumferentially equal spaced longitudinal grooves.

6. An odometer and the like comprising a supporting frame structure and a shaft journaled therein, a train of counter wheels mounted side by side on said shaft; a gear In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set this 20 day of my hand at Chicag0,Illinois, December, 1921. I

JOHN K. OLSEN. 

